At the end of each year we survey our members to help us set priorities for the next year. Last year we shared the outcomes of the 2018 member survey on our blog, and now it’s time to update you on the results from 2019!
We sent out the member survey last November and received 50 responses from five different continents. Although many different types of organizations as well as older and newer members were well-represented this year, we do want to emphasize that we want to hear from everyone!
78% of our members said it was very likely that they’d recommend DataCite to other organizations, a great outcome! These members said that they think we do a good job with our DOI registration service, that we provide prompt support, and that we play an important role in the community. 6% indicated they were very unlikely to recommend DataCite to other organizations. The main reason for this was unclarity around the membership model.
When asked about DataCite products and services, Fabrica and our APIs were seen as most important, but also DataCite Search and the Stats portal are used by many members. When asked which services we should improve, these services were mentioned most often, probably due to the high usage. When asked which additional services we should provide, there was a very clear response: none! Members said we already do a lot, that we should focus on existing key services, and ensure we support the basics before moving on to other things.
When looking at our communication channels, the mailing lists, Open Hours, and the newsletter were seen as most useful. We have some work planned in 2020 on the mailing lists, which will optimize the communications that go out via the mailing lists. Members also indicated that they feel they could benefit from closer collaboration with other members. We recognize that this kind of community building is very important and will work on ways to enable that. Right now, you can already share your best practices on the PIDforum, where we have a specific group for DataCite members – please contact us if you don’t have access yet.
There will be another survey at the end of 2020, but in the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact us with your questions and comments! We are always happy to hear from you at support@datacite.org.
